Harry's Place and Searchlight harboured racist

Terry Fitzpatrick was a supposed anti racist. He often boasted about his credentials of working with the Searchlight organisation for many years. He claims to be personal friend with many Bangladeshi activists and have worked on many anti-fascist campaigns. Some on the left considered Terry an iconic figure. Last week saw him convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court of racially aggravated harassment charges.

I knew Terry and as far as I was concerned he was one of those on the left who always viewed black self-organisation as a diversion to the working class struggle against racism. Of course I and thousands of others disagreed with that analysis, always believing that as black people and as victims of racism, we had an inalienable right to self organise and lead the anti-racist struggle.

Terry and his supporters not only disagreed with us, they violently disagreed with us. This difference in perspective was strongly held and Terry made it his business to be prosecutor in chief of a racist campaign that has targeted me over the last decade.

At the time I was the focus of a full frontal political vendetta from the Evening Standard during the 2008 London Mayoral election campaign I was being bombarded with racist emails and phone calls with threats of violence from Terry. He told me in no uncertain terms that he was targeting my home and any meetings where I was intending to speak.

Terry’s vitriol is worthy of the BNP or EDL, and much of his rhetoric was steeped in racist bigotry and hatred for black people.

Some on the left supported Terry despite his views and even when this matter became public many on the blogosphere decided to support Terry.

Many accused both myself and Simon Woolley of fabricating lies despite the emails we published from Terry clearly demonstrating his racism. The result was Simon and I received a hate storm of comments from people who declared themselves to be left leaning anti-racists.

Chief among these websites was Harry’s Place, a left wing libertarian site that I now accuse of being a safe haven for racists. I will be publishing more details on the clear evidence I have to back up my claim. Harry's Place has real form in this area as will become clear. I found them to be deeply duplicitous and profoundly hostile to supporting my demand that they ban Terry from their site. They did so only after they became aware that Terry would now face criminal charges.

They eventually 'cleaned' their site of all Terry’s racist comments. Luckily we have a complete record that demonstrates their full support for Terry whilst he was conducting his campaign.

Similarly we contacted Searchlight and asked them to support us by publicly distancing themselves from Terry and condemning his abusive and racist comments. They refused to do so even when it was pointed out that he was announcing himself as a member of the Searchlight team. They indulged his racism and supported his campaign along with Harry’s Place much to their discredit. Both only took action to when forced to do so and it became clear that Terry had been charged.

The fact that a so called prominent 'anti racist' campaigning organisation and ‘left leaning' Harry’s Place gave this despicable man cover during his racist campaign against Simon and I speaks volumes.

There is a section on the left that despises black self-organisation and in their ideological zeal their articulation becomes both racist and profoundly hostile.

I will say more about this in the coming weeks, suffice to say that I have always maintained their can be no collusion with racism without becoming deeply compromised and poisoned by it.

The racism on the blogosphere is rampant and out of control and Harry’s Place is not alone in allowing unmoderated racist comments in the name of 'free speech'.

After securing the conviction of Terry Fitzpatrick I along with OBV will be taking a zero tolerance stance toward these matters and all such comments will be reported to the police for prosecution.

We don’t expect apologies from either Searchlight or Harry’s Place, they are incapable of such good grace. We do expect that their collusion with a racist and their failure to condemn him should result in their unequivocal condemnation by all genuine anti-racists. They must be held accountable for their actions. They must face censure.

Just in case you are in any doubt about the serious and disgusting nature of the abuse we received over a two-year period which included texts, letters, and many phone calls as evidence was included as one of the three indictment in the case We have reproduced a selection below:

PLEASE NOTE THE CONTENT DISPLAYED BELOW IS ABUSIVE AND EXPLICIT IN NATURE AND MAY DISTRESS AND UPSET SOME READERS

Terry Fitzpatrick’s emails to Lee Jasper 2008 – 2010.

I am doing a thesis on the development, or should I preface that with under, on the black/left/revolutionary/pimp/hustler/taking money from guilt tripped white liberals/sydrome that existed from the Critchlow/Howe/Nottinghill Gate, Lucky Gordon, chucking whites out of their homes by nigger pimps like you paid by landlords like Peter Rachman you could make that a rap crap song while you have your silly base ball cap on the side of your head and you is grabbing you balls innit?

You have called me a coward you fucking nigger, oh and by the way I have a cutting where you call yourself a nigger, so I challenge you to a fight, not just you but the other two named niggers, I will batter the shit out of your, almost, black hides.

Lee, Always thick you black cunt are you not? Why don't you shut your, actually not very black, thick gob? I gave you advice before you nigger, I flatter you, the last time you took me on.

Back on line you fucking nigger? What about you and the crack dealers and the gun renters in All Saints Rd you fucking nigger.

Come on you fucking nigger. Let's have a fight.

For the benefit of those who might not know what a nigger is I posit some definitions. Never done a days work in its life. Ponced of white society in terms of grants from Ken Livingstone. Sold crack with its mates around Notting Hill and Brixton.

Yo, whahapen innit, or is it init? I really don't know how to spell in nigger. Well boy, we really, as far you and your Jew hating niggermates in OBV are concerned, have a problem. In your nigger stupidity you made a complaint to old bill. You hit on one who was and is corrupt and will go to prison over this maybe taking some of you black pimp hustlers with him.

I know why you haven't got back to me, because you know just how much information I have on you nigger pimps. I am subpeoning a number of people.